State of Grace
by BrokenDreamz95
Summary: My take on the Makorra Week prompts
1. Masquerade

**Title:** Masquerade  
**Summary:** [written for day one of Makorra Week | angst | Makorra]  
**Words:** 1,076

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Everyday, she woke, eyes fluttering open to stare at the ceiling above, and ears listening close to the sounds of morning that surrounded her.

Everyday, she showered and dress after reluctantly leaving her bed, taking more time than necessary to stare at her reflection in the mirror.

Everyday, she ate breakfast with Tenzin, Pema, and the children, avoiding conversation that didn't specifically involve her, wearing a forced smile and always answering with an "I'm great," when asked how she was feeling.

Everyday, she would assist Pema in cleaning up the table and dishes, remaining quiet and avoiding eye contact, knowing all too well that Pema knew exactly what was on her mind. The older women, however, never pried where she didn't belong — it wasn't her place, and Korra knew that Pema wouldn't speak a word unless Korra confided in her.

Everyday, she trained with Tenzin and the children, learning new airbending techniques and testing them in mock-fights with the bending portion of the family. Training always allowed her to keep a clear mind, as did the meditation that usually preceded or followed.

Everyday, she would eat dinner with the family, avoiding unnecessary conversation, assist in cleaning up, shower, and retire to her room, readying herself for the following day.

Everyday, this routine repeated, with exceptions made only for Asami and Bolin who often invited the Avatar out to eat or hang out.

Everyday, she avoided anything that had to do with a certain ex-boyfriend — a certain, tall, handsome, firebender boy that was once a great part of her life — for any mention or reminder of him triggered her to feel as though she was simply floating along in this life of hers. She couldn't quite figure out the correct way to describe the feeling, but she knew that it was certainly caused by grief over a love lost, and no matter how much she attempted to mask the thoughts of the boy and the feelings that accompanied them, she could not shake them.

She knew better than to drop her façade around those who cared deeply for and often worried about the young Avatar, and yet, nothing could have prepared her for the chance encounter in the middle of Republic City Park — a place she went often to clear her head when given the chance.

He was walking tall down the path she had been on, gloved hands shoved carelessly in the pockets of his long overcoat, eyes downcast and brow furrowed. She wondered if he had spotted her — and, of course, he did. How could he have not? He was walking toward her, after all, but on the slim chance he had yet to notice her, she contemplated veering off of the path and into a crowd, blending in and keeping her presence to him unknown.

Something kept her from doing that, however, and the two soon came face-to-face. Involuntarily, she cleared her throat, and he glanced up at her, breaking out in a smile before realizing it wasn't appropriate. He'd stopped before her, and it was then that she got a good look at him.

Dark circles surrounded his eyes, stubble began to form upon his face, and his lips formed a slight frown. He looked like a train wreck, and yet, she noticed the way he seemed to smile with his eyes at the sight of her. It brought back a familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach, one that she began to ignore out of habit.

"Hey," was the only word he offered her after a long moment of unbearable silence.

"Nice day for a walk, isn't it?" were the next words to get passed his lips when silence fell over them once more.

Her eyes had shifted away from the young man before her sometime during their encounter, and she could only shrug in return, not trusting herself fully to speak to the person who still held her heart after months and months of attempting to move on.

"Look," he began after sitting through another moment of silence, "I can't go on pretending like you don't exist. It's killing me, Korra! This is the first time we've — _I've _spoken to you in so long, and you haven't even said one word to me. Why do we have to act like this?"

"Acting like what, Mako?" she finally offered through gritted teeth. "You don't understand how difficult it is for me to be around you! You aren't the only one going through this, you know. I have to go through everyday acting like nothing is wrong because I'm the Avatar! I'm pretty much the face of benders throughout the world, and I'm sure they'd rather not see me depressed over a breakup."

"You're human, Korra. What do they expect?"

"It isn't just that!" her voice quavered and cracked, and she finally looked toward him as she spoke. "I meant what I said when I told you that we just don't work together, Mako. You have no idea how many times I need to repeat that to myself everyday when I wish I could just be with you again!"

"Then let's try again," he whispered, taking her hands between his own. "We may not work together, but we sure as hell don't work well _without_ each other."

That feeling — the warmth of his hands enveloping hers, the static that coursed through her entire being each time he touched her, the butterflies that floated within her stomach — that specific feeling she missed dearly was cut short when she quickly pulled away from his loving touch. She didn't dare meet his eyes, knowing all too well that she would be met with agony which mirrored her own.

"No, Mako," she whispered, blinking back the tears that had began to pool. "I'm standing by what I said."

"Then at least stop acting like you don't know me!"

"I can't do that! I can't be in the same room as you because I love you so much!" she turned her back toward him and weakly yanked her hand away from his lingering touch. "This is it, Mako — this is goodbye."

And as she walked away from him, not daring to look back, he could feel something rip apart from him — almost as though it had been ripped away from his heart.

He fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands toward the ground, remaining there until a worried Bolin came and found him.


	2. Lyrical

**Title:** Lyrical  
**Summary:** [written for day 2's prompt for Makorra Week | fluff | Makorra]  
**Words:** 740

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_You took the time to memorize me:_  
_my fears, my hopes, and dreams._  
_I just like hangin' out with you, all the time._  
_All those times that you didn't leave;_  
_It's been occurring to me I'd like to hang out with you, for my whole life._  
- Stay Stay Stay - Taylor Swift

* * *

_"Son-of-a-bitch!"_

He never thought he could move as fast as he had – jolting out of bed and dashing into the front room of their apartment, jumping over the back of the sofa and darting into the kitchen to inspect the cause of the sudden outburst from his girlfriend. He stopped in front of the island countertop, slammed his hands down on the surface, and stared at the angered young woman, wide-eyed. His hair disheveled from the previous night's activities, and the dark circles around his eyes only added to his appearance – one that would cause any stranger to assume that the firebending Republic City Police Officer was an escapee from the mental asylum.

"Korra! What's wrong? Are you okay?" he spluttered, eyes darting every which way as he examined both the scene and his girlfriend.

"I'm _fine_," Korra spat through clenched teeth. She sat the frying pan she held in her hand back upon the stove. "Go back to bed, Mako."

"I'm not going anywhere," he said, running a hand through his hair as he attempted to regain his composure. He straightened his back and walked around the counter, peering behind Korra to the best of his ability, eying the pan upon the stove and the eggshells to its left. "You're cooking?"

"_Trying_," she sternly replied, "I wouldn't have burned myself if a certain someone actually taught me how to cook."

He raised a brow in question at her statement, noticing only then that she was hiding her hand behind her back. Was the burn really that bad? And just how was it _his_ fault? "I only teach you when you're willing to learn, which isn't that often."

That glare – he knew that glare. That was the glare she gave when she was furious. Just what had he done to deserve this?

"You're a jerk, you know that?" she snarled.

"You know what–" he stopped mid-sentence, finger in the air as though to emphasize whatever point he was about to make. His annoyed expression seemed to fade away in an instant, and his mouth fell agape as if realization had suddenly hit him.

Perhaps it had.

"Marry me," he blurted unexpectedly.

"This isn't a joke, Mako," Korra scoffed, folding her arms across her chest and rolling her eyes. Her expression, however, seemed to fade, as well, at his words. "Go back to bed – you're being a huge ass."

"I'm serious," he whispered once more, approaching his girlfriend. He took her wrists in his hands out of fear of causing further pain by touching her burn, and lowered his head just enough to rest his forehead upon hers. "Marry me, Korra."

The young woman before him stumbled back at his words, bumping into the rim of the counter and the handle of the pan on the stove. She jerked her arms toward her, though this only caused Mako to tighten his grip ever so slightly, not wanting to let her get away – and truth-be-told, she didn't want to leave, either.

"I don't want to do this all of the time," he began, his hot breath tickling her face with each word he spoke. "I don't want one of us to leave in the middle of an argument and not come back for hours or days on end. I want to stay with you for the rest of my life – I want to have a family and grow old with you. I want to be with your through every up and down you may have, and help you work through each and every problem the best way I can. I want to be able to fall asleep with you in my arms every night, and wake up with you every morning. I want a life with you, Korra."

"This really is the oddest way to propose, you know," her eyes finally met his as she spoke, and her lips twitched into a smirk. "We were in the middle of an argument – not to mention you look like shit and are only wearing your underwear."

"I'm being serious, Korra. Please, marry me."

And although she rolled her eyes for the second time that morning, she couldn't help but bring her hands to either side of his face and close what little distance there was between them, pressing her lips to his in a chaste kiss.

_"You really are an idiot, Cool Guy. You already know I would marry you in a heartbeat."_


	3. Winter

**Title:** Winter  
**Summary:** [written for day 3 of Makorra Week | fluff with a hint of angst | Makorra]  
**Words:** 531

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"This spot taken?"

Her blue eyes trail away from the raging fire before her, slowly moving up the young man's figure and meeting those amber eyes of his she loved so dearly. He dons a shy smile – something unusual for the firebender, though she assumes it is due to her parents' presence in the kitchen just down the hall – and gestures to the spot on the floor beside her.

She shrugs her shoulders from beneath the warmth of her blanket and turns her attention back toward the fire. Although she hasn't given a definite answer, the firebender takes her vague action as her usual _sure, I guess_, and carefully lowers himself to the ground, crossing his legs and sitting beside her.

She notices the young man beside her shivering, despite the warmth which emits from the flames of the fireplace, and she must remind herself that he isn't used to a cold climate such as this. She has experienced winter in Republic City, something the young man always said he would die from given the temperatures. She laughed at the statement, of course, telling him winter in the city was mere child's play compared to the weather of the South which remained year-round.

She pulls one side of her blanket away from her, allowing the cold air to nip at her body, and scoots closer to the young man. He watches her closely, and although she can feel the heat of a blush spreading across her face, she doesn't dare stop her actions. She flings the side of the blanket up and over his broad shoulders to the best of her ability and allows her hand to linger near his bicep. Her head comes to rest against him, and she inhales the scent of him through the fabric of his thermal shirt. He's much warmer than her, something she has always loved, often telling him he is her own personal, human blanket, and she presses as much of herself against him as she can.

His arm finally comes to wrap around her small frame, holding her close while he wraps the blanket around them with his free hand. His head rests gently against hers and he sighs in content. His hand begins tracing patterns against Korra's side, sending shivers down her spine, and a smile spreads across his face.

She spent many cold nights alone growing up, and now with Mako in her life, she had never spent them alone again. He would warm her with his embrace and his kisses, and that was something she cherished and looked forward to the most each year. She never imagined that those moments would be ripped away from her after Unalaq and Vaatu's defeat, leaving her alone on those cold nights once again; and yet, here she was, back in that moment she longed for the entire year. What this meant regarding their relationship status, she didn't dare ask, fearing she would ruin this moment; however, whatever it meant, she knew it was a step in the right direction.

A step closer for the two of them to get back on track, and her back in his arms on those cold, winter nights.


	4. Holiday

**Title:** Holiday  
**Summary:** [written for Makorra Week, day 4 | fluff with a tiny bit of angst | Makorra]  
**Words:** 852

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She found herself beneath the mistletoe, cleverly held between a young man's forefinger and thumb, just above her head. She gazed at the plant in wonder, a faint shade of pink beginning to tint her face just beneath her eyes. She had heard of the tradition of mistletoe during her time in Republic City - wherever the plant hung, as long as two people found themselves beneath it, they were to share a kiss, and there certainly was no backing down from the task.

Bolin had put the plant to good use, sneaking underneath several when a girl who caught his fancy began to pass underneath it. He'd earned himself a few kisses, of course, but Korra often found herself laughing at the young man's expense when he earned himself a well placed slap to the face or stomp to his foot from some women. Korra, herself, steered clear of the plant to the best of her ability during the holiday season, not wanting to be trapped beneath and having to follow through with the tradition with a complete stranger - or even worse, the one young man she wanted to kiss more than anything.

Yet, here she was, beneath that damned plant she tried so hard to avoid - and to make matters worse, it was held by the exact person she wanted to avoid more than anything.

Mako.

Of course, she hadn't kissed him since their beak-up, for friends didn't go around kissing one another when and wherever they pleased. Kissing him, no matter the circumstances, would surely bring the feelings she kept under lock and key to a head, where they would burst free from their binds and invade her senses no matter how hard she tried to fight them. She couldn't just break tradition, though, especially being a resident of Republic City and wanting nothing more than to adapt to their lifestyle and fit in.

"I believe this means you owe me a kiss, Avatar Korra," he spoke softly, tone almost seductive in nature, and for a moment she lost herself in her memories. He was a sly one, she would give him that.

"I really don't think-"

"What? That it's a good idea?" he frowned slightly. "Think of it as a kiss between two good friends - nothing more. Besides, it's tradition, and we can't go breaking that, now, can we?"

Damn, he had her there.

"No," she muttered, hand moving to her hip. "I guess we can't."

"Good," he whispered, craning his neck downward in order to close the distance between the two, "I wouldn't want to, anyway."

She expected the kiss to be that of a quick peck; nothing in this world could have prepared her for just what her ex-boyfriend had in mind for a kiss under the mistletoe.

His lips were warm against hers, with just an inkling of dryness from the cold, winter air. His lips move against hers, and for a moment, she stiffens, not knowing what to do at this point. Of course, her resolve shattered at the feel of his warm breath against her lips with each time they parted. His tongue was quickly added to the mix, as well; the tip carefully brushing against the sensitive skin of her lips. That was when she began kissing back - slowly, at first, but returning his kisses with just as much love and passion that he was giving her.

The floodgates the two had built within them had quickly crumbled, allowing their feelings for each other to flow freely and flood their entire being. Months worth of pain from being apart was finally being healed with every kiss they shared beneath the mistletoe, and thoughts and memories began to form in the back of Korra's mind. She missed this - she missed being able to kiss the man she loved more than anything like this, she missed being able to tell him she loved him any time she wanted without worry, she missed being in his arms during the cold winter nights, snuggling close to him and enjoying his company.

She missed him.

And he knew it.

He pulled away much too soon for her liking, but she had to remind herself that they were still no longer together. They were just friends who happened to wind up under the mistletoe together.

But did friends really kiss with as much love and passion as they just had?

He wore a smile on his face - not his usual, cocky grin, but a somber smile. One she mirrored in her own way as they looked into each others eyes.

Just as Mako had told her before, they may not work together, but they sure as hell fall apart when they aren't together.

And to Korra, that was all that mattered. This was a step in the right direction, and neither of them could wait for the outcome they knew was sure to come.


	5. Reminisce

**Title:** Reminisce  
**Summary:** [written for day 5 of Makorra Week | Tonraq perspective | Makorra]  
**Words:** 570

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Light blue eyes watched the newlywed couple from afar. With arms crossed against his chest, the burly man rested his back against the edge of the wall, taking in the sight of his daughter and son-in-law moving off beat the music that played in the background. The smiles upon their faces were unremarkable by all means – to be surprised by the amount of joy the two felt would be impossible and shocking in and of itself – and the way they gazed into each others eyes as they both attempted their first dance as husband and wife – his daughter was stepping on the poor boy's feet every so often, to which they both shared a laugh at – reminded the older man of his wife and himself throughout the years.

A hand came to rest upon the man's shoulder, and he looked down and behind himself for the person who gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze in support. His eyes met a pair of blue, and his expression changed dramatically; the muscles in his face immediately relaxed, and what was a stern line was now a soft smile upon his lips. His wife could definitely bring out the softest side to the otherwise intimidating Chief of the Southern Water Tribe.

"Mako will take good care of Korra, Tonraq," his wife smiled, eyes now moving toward their daughter and son-in-law. "You can't deny that the boy loves our daughter unconditionally, even if they have had their ups and downs – we did at one point, too, just as every couple does."

"That isn't what I'm worried about; I know Korra can take care of herself. She's a strong girl, just like her parents," the chief reassured, though his wife knew it was more toward himself than her. "I'm no longer the most important man in her life anymore – Mako is. I just wish she didn't have to grow up so fast."

"She's still your little girl, honey," the older woman stated, moving her hand to entwine with her husband's. "Remember, I didn't stop communication with my father when I married you, did I?"

A sigh emitted from the Chief of the South. "No, you didn't. Then again, you weren't the Avatar – you didn't have all of the responsibilities that Korra does."

"Korra will make time, dear. She always has."

The older man didn't speak another word – instead his eyes went back toward his daughter and son-in-law just as they finished their first dance and man and wife. The way the two looked at each other, as if they were the only ones in the room, reminded the man of his own wife and self. He could tell that his daughter loved the firebender with every fiber of her being, and would continue loving him until the day she died – something he could honestly say he saw reflecting back to her from Mako.

The relationship the newlyweds shared was one that mirrored his relationship with his wife, and even though the older man initially ignored the bond his daughter and the firebender shared during the many stages of their blossoming relationship, he could honestly say that he was happy that his daughter found her other half.


End file.
